Winky See, Winky Do
by A-Sluggish-Memory
Summary: Members of the Hogwarts faculty are invited to a mysterious party to celebrate the New Year. Located in a mansion filled with illusions and secrets, guests are killed one by on by a murderer who walks among them. Can you figure out who it is?
1. Just a Little Cut

**Set roughly in the HBP era, this story is based on Agatha Christie's And then There were None. This is my attempt at a slightly more serious story and the whole 'Who dunnit' style of writing. Yes the killer is in the group of ten characters introduced in this story; the end's not going to be like 'actually, it was Lord Voldemort killing them all along!' See if you can work out who it is. My Charity Burbage's personality is based on what personality I gave her in my 'Just Charity' story (quirky, bumbling, Snape obsessed) but is not in canon with that story. Please enjoy and comment!**

***NOTE* I now have a small trailer for this fic on youtube for you to watch before reading, it's only basic but it gives you a good idea of the story- just type this at the end of the url on y.o.u.t.u.b. /watch?v=MZPqzxQuETY**

_Dearest Guest,_

_You are cordially invited to a gala celebrating the moon of the newest year._

_Dress in your finest robes and arrive at Forgery Nosh-Plum Manor in the eve at 7._

_Meals and alcohol will be provided to all guests_

_Do not be late._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_X_

Attached on the back of the grotesquely decorated invitation was a poem written in jet black ink.

_Ten little wizard boys went out to dine;_

_One got a little cut and then there were nine._

_Nine little wizard boys clearing up their plates;_

_One gets tangled and then there were eight._

_Eight little wizard boys fearing trips to heaven;_

_One hears a wispy scream and then there were seven._

_Seven little wizard boys looking for a fix;_

_One drank too much and then there were six._

_Six little wizard boys trying to survive;_

_One makes a big mistake and then there were five._

_Five little wizard boys covered in gore;_

_One got a scolding and then there were four._

_Four little wizard boys wanting to flee;_

_A lie goes unforgiveable and then there were three._

_Three little wizard boys searching for a clue;_

_A gesture turns deadly and then there were two._

_Two Little wizard boys duelling without gun;_

_One gets crushed and then there was one._

_One little wizard boy having no fun;_

_Death plagues and destroys them and then there were none_

As the radiant sun settled over the ever present hillside; the manor lay waiting for its guests to arrive. Given little information by the mysterious invitations, each guest departed their own location with both excitement and apprehension. The Manor was located in the northern greens of England, situated away from villages and muggle cities. Placed upon an obviously slanted hill, the building towered over its own front garden, constantly putting the grounds in shadows. Draped with ivy and covered in large rusting windows, the manor looked aged, almost like it could fall down at any moment. The 'Don't be late' part of the invitation intimidated many of the nervous guests so many of them decided to arrive early, just in case. Not daring to go inside until 7pm, the first guest arrived a staggering forty-five minutes early, just in case something went wrong. Though, the chances of something major happening whilst travelling by portkey are rather slim.

Still clutching the rubber glove which had been converted into a portkey, the witch pulled herself up from the fall and dusted off her bright yellow robes. Straightening her thick wooly scarf, she inspected the grounds for any sign of human life. "Oh, just a bit early!" She chuckled, whilst checking her pocket watch.

It wasn't until a good fifteen minutes later when a wizard apparated only metres away from the witch, onto the soft turf laid out in the garden. Regaining his bearings, he peered around to the witch."Charity? Is that you?" The man called out, noticing the woman was a fellow workmate.

"Why, yes! It is me Filius!" The pair gave each other a polite hug and then moved away. Who knew that both the muggle studies and charms Professors of Hogwarts would meet at the same party? "I really am quite excited for this party, I cancelled holiday choir practise for this!" Flitwick let out a childish giggle, prompting Burbage to laugh as well.

Just as Charity was about to offer the obviously freezing Flitwick her scarf, the sight of a broom could be seen hovering just over the manor roof. Setting down beside a small statue of a garden gnome, the pair saw yet another familiar face before them. "Charity, Filius, I'm surprised to see you two both here!" Professor McGonagall took off her riding goggles and inserted them into the pocket of her lengthy brown coat. "I am assuming you both received the invitation also, naturally I decided to come, I'm always up for an adventure as you know!" Minerva let out a giddy jump in the air and then settled back down.

Charity and Filius exchanged glances; both of them knew Minerva Mcgonagall was not up for any adventure, unless it involved detention with Slytherins. Nevertheless, the pair nodded in agreement and the three of them stood awkwardly for the next guest to arrive. This time, two figures had apparated to the manor, and appeared from the other side of the garden through the mist.

Trudging through the snow, arm in arm came Professor Slughorn and Sprout, both severely underdressed, both very cold. "Merlin's beard!" Exclaimed Slughorn. "This is a surprise isn't it?"

"I think I'm beginning to sense a theme in all this." Squeaked Professor Flitwick. "Why did someone invite all us Hogwarts workers to a party, it must be someone we know!"

"Why wouldn't they tell us then?" Asked a nervous Professor Sprout.

"I don't know Pomona, but I don't think I want to stay to find out." Announced Charity, politely yet quickly. She began speed walking back to her glove when Professor Slughorn stopped her.

"Charity, you ought to stay to find out why. Aren't you the slightest bit interested on who invited us all?"

"No. Now if you don't mind I'll be leaving." Though before Charity could reach the yellow washing up glove that was her portkey, a dark greasy haired man apparated before her.

"Charity." Murmered Snape. He stepped around her and approached the group of Professors. "Minerva." He spoke, nodding after addressing her. "Filius. Pomona. Horace."

"Oh, hello Severus, I was just... er... _not _leaving."

Snape stared at Charity for a few seconds, then turned away and started a conversation with Professor Mcgonagall. Sure enough, over the next few minutes before 7pm, more employees of Hogwarts turned up for the unexplainable party; Professor Trelawney, Madam Pomfrey and Argus Filch all arriving minutes before the beginning of the gala.

"Well folks it's 7 o'clock and unless you want to be tortured and gutted for not arriving on time, I suggest we go in."

"Argus, don't exaggerate." Spoke a tired Mcgonagall. "Anyway, there may be more guests arriving."

Slughorn stepped forward into the conversation, his body shaking from head to toe. "I'm not sure if it's the immense freezing temperatures or the fear of prosecution for not being on time but I believe now would be a great time to go inside."

The group quickly agreed on Slughorn's rational plan and then huddled all together, heading for the front door. It was one of the largest doors the guests had ever seen, perfectly carved and polished; it showed a story of sorts involving the transformation of a werewolf. Professor Snape gave three hard knocks and it immediately creaked open, revealing an enormous room, the two staircases taking up most of the space. Hanging from the ceiling was one of the most beautiful and shining chandeliers, covered in crystal carvings of bowtruckles.

"Is anybody home?" Called out Madam Pomfrey.

"We're here for the party." Shouted Professor Slughorn. Though Horace looked around, and there was nobody to be seen. "Maybe we should take a look around? Some of us can go this—"

Trelawney interrupted Slughorn's plan. "My inner senses foretell danger to those crossing the lines of despair! Any separation may lead to plagues of fear and—"

"That's the exact same thing you told me when we played hide and go seek at my birthday party!" Piped Professor Mcgonagall.

Professor Trelawney backed down and the group soon decided to split up and search the house for signs of the host. Looking inside and out of every dusty room, the guests found little sign of life. Professor Sprout did however find a family of rats living in the kitchen.

"Charity, we should set these rats free outside. Argus, fetch me that broom."

"A broom Madam? In my days, to sort out a rat infestation we boiled them in a pot and made them into a stew. Naughty students would be forced fed this revolting—"

"Argus!" Professor Sprout screamed, removing him from his flashbacks of better times. "A broom!"

Meanwhile, Professor Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey had stumbled upon a trail of butterbeer bottles leading to a lone cupboard on the south side of the manor. Approaching the door of the closet, the pair heard clanging of bottles from inside and exchanged worried glances.

"Okay Madam, on the count of three, we spring the door open!" Flitwick whispered to Madam Pomfrey, who nodded back at him.

"One... two... three!" Flitwick burst open the cupboard which was filled to the brim with brooms and butterbeer bottles. There also lay a drunken looking house elf curled up under a mangy old coat.

The elf jolted upwards. "Winky... *burp*... Winky didn't mean to fall asleep. Winky just... *burp*... wanted to lie down!"

"Excuse me Mr Winky, is this _your _house? Did you invite us all here?" Flitwick asked the elf.

Winky looked at Flitwick and then to Madam Pomfrey in shock horror. "Oh no sir! This is... *burp*... this is Winky's master's... *burp*... home! I get invitation to party so... *burp*... so I stay up late at night for guests."

"Winky, why on earth did your master—"

Flitwick's continous questioning was interrupted by a chilling sound. A screech of a woman could be heard from the sitting room. Flitwick and Pomfrey sprinted to the source of the scream into the sitting room, which was now crowded with the rest of the horrified guests. In the middle of the room, staining the once clean rug with blood was the gory corpse of Professor Severus Snape.

"How?" Flitwick asked himself. He knew instantaneously that a spell had been used on the man, although he couldn't pin point which one. At that moment, almost the same moment that everyone else encountered it, Flitwick came to an even more frightening conclusion. He looked around the room at the series of horror-struck faces...

"The killer is among us."


	2. Twisted and Tangled

The late potions master's blood continued to seep into the unfortunately placed rug. Upon closer inspection of the body, one could see cuts all over the body; deep gashes and wounds. All the blood that was once happily inside Professor Snape's body was now in a puddle around his corpse. The room, still shocked about the discovery, took this information in different ways. Professor Burbage lay beside the corpse, continuously shaking it for an answer, Filch was eyeing out all of the guests searching for a suspect whilst Madam Pomfrey was clearly upset that she wasn't able to heal him in time. The rest of the guests merely stood awe struck, staring right into the body.

Professor Burbage stepped up from the corpse and cleared her throat whilst trying to hold back her tears. "Now this... this must be a tragic accident."

"Charity... " Filius interjected.

"A tragic, tragic accident!" Charity continued, ignoring Professor Flitwick's words. "Now I suggest we—"

"Charity!" Professor Slughorn shouted. "It wasn't an accident... it was murder." Charity seemed like the only one shocked by this information, the other guests already coming to that conclusion.

"Murder?" She screamed. "Then we need to alert the ministry, we need to bury him, we need to—"

Professor Mcgonagall interrupted the frantic Professor. "No Charity, let's not. Let's not tell anyone, let's not bury him, I believe we should just hide the body."

"Then it was you Minerva!"

"No Charity, don't be silly, it wasn't me."

"You see..." Began Madam Pomfrey. "None of us really liked Severus..."

"He was mean!"

"He never talked to me!"

"He was a bully!"

"No... we can't do nothing! Snape was my friend... we need to treat him with... he could just..." Charity faded off as she saw the rest of the group shaking their heads in disagreement. "So... you all wanted him dead anyway?"

"Well Charity, none of us really wanted him dead, we just don't really mind now that he is..." Explained Professor Sprout.

"Well someone obviously wanted him dead, look at that body!" Joked Filch, looking around him for a reaction. No-one laughed.

"Well my friends..." Whispered Professor Trelawney. "It's too late for our souls now... the stars show that we are accessories to the crime. Now that we chose to do nothing, we are as negative as the one who had performed the wicked deed!"

"I couldn't have put it better myself..." Replied Professor Mcgonagall sarcastically. "We are now a part of this so we'll just have to forget this whole thing! Horace, get the body and hide it in the cellar... I'll get the door and we can all leave."

Just as Professor Mcgonagall started proceeding to the door, a small squeaky voice startled all the guests.

"You can't get out... *burp*. Winky's tried many a time..." Winky exclaimed to the guests.

Mcgongall, not deterred, jogged over to the door and tried to pull it open... it was no use. "Alohomora!" She said, pointing her wand at the door handle. Pushing the door again, it once again didn't open.

"Winky... *burp*... told you..." Just as Winky's words faded into nothing, the room went into panic. Professors Sprout, Slughorn and Flitwick ran to the windows to attempt to open them, Madam Pomfrey and Filch ran to the door to help Professor Mcgonagall with the door, and the rest of the guests attempted to apparate outside. The windows wouldn't budge, the door still wouldn't open and the attempts at apparation failed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Flitwick announced, after the panic subsided. "This is Winky the house elf, she says her master owns this house."

"Who is your master elf?" Questioned Filch, who stepped towards the house elf threateningly.

"Winky... *burp*... Winky... CAN NOT TELL!" The house elf screamed at the guests, nearly spitting Filch in the eye. The elf then disappeared upstairs into the manor, crying.

"There you go Argus, you upset the elf!" Charity cried.

"I'm betting Winky knows something, we need to get her back!" Madam Pomfrey said, more determined than ever.

"Maybe we should split up to look for Winky, we might even find a way out!" Slughorn suggested to his fellow guests.

Professor Sprout seemed a bit reluctant to Slughorn's idea."Pish tosh Horace! Isn't that a bit cliché? If we split up, what if something happens?"

"I'm with the fat guy and the nurse!" Announced Filch. "Sorry," He said to Pomfrey and Slughorn quietly, "I'm a bit bad with names." Argus stepped up onto the velvet covered couch located next to Snape's body. "I know all you want to know who invited us here, and I do too! If we find the elf, we'll find the answers!"

"I fear Argus is right," Sighed Professor Flitwick. "Splitting up is going to be the best answer. Let's see... Argus, Madam Pomfrey; you check out the conservatory and south wing of the manor, Charity, Horace; you check out upstairs south, and Minerva and Pomona; you can search upstairs north. Sybill and I will have a little look around here. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

With a few simple goodbyes, the pairs of Hogwarts employees split up into different parts of the house. Step by step, each pair apprehensively explored their designated part of the house, searching cupboards and even under rugs. Everywhere they went the pairs found empty butterberr bottles yet there was no sign of the intoxicated house elf. Professor Slughorn and Professor Burbage had found themselves into one of the largest rooms in the desolate manor; the library. The elevated walls were filled to the brim with bookshelves filled to the brim with books. The library had everything from 'Pumpkin Soup for the Wizard's Soul' to '100 ways to catch a wood nymph'. Though the pair was not interested in a light read, although the large comfortable looking chairs were enticing. They needed to find the elf... or a way out.

"You know Horace; I saw this thing in a muggle movie once... about secret passages. Pulling out certain books would trigger a door to open or something. Maybe we could try that?"

"Well, I'm willing to try anything really, though there are a lot of books to get through..."

"We'll have to get started then!" Turning away from Horace, Charity started pulling books out of one of the bookshelves, one after another. Green ones, red ones, dusty ones, small ones, ones that smelled like mushrooms and others which tickled as you touched them. One even made her sneeze while another gave her the feeling that she needed to pee. Horace soon caught on and he started on the opposite wall, throwing the books of the shelves, desperate for a way out. It wasn't long before the overweight Professor ran out of breath, so he proceeded to take a nap on one of the large comfy chairs. Charity sighed and she started pulling the books out twice and fast and twice as aggressive. She soon came to a large black leather book, inscribed with an ancient language.

Pulling as hard as she could she yanked the book out of the shelf and it fell on the ground with a mighty thump. The moment the thump woke the sleeping Slughorn, the ceiling began to rumble. It soon started to open up; it was like a secret passage to the sky. "Yes! I did it! Look Horace, the ceiling's opening!" Charity ran over to Horace in his armchair and directed his eyes to what was above them. Though this time, when Charity looked back up into the ceiling, it had fully opened and for a moment, nothing happened. Less than a second passed when immense darkness fell over the pair. Both got shivers down their back and the glass of water on the coffee table beside Slughorn froze up. The three windows placed around the room frosted over and Professor Slughorn could see his breath as he sighed. "DEMENTORS!" Charity screamed.

And sure enough, emerging from the hole in the sky was swarms and swarms of dementors, nearly more than one hundred of them approaching the pair. They were totally outnumbered. "Expecto patronum!" Slughorn shouted as he rose from his chair. A large silvery baboon emerged from the tip of his wand and he attempted to fight the dementors.

"Expecto patronum!" Charity screamed, as a silvery hedgehog leapt out of her wand and into the dementors. "There's too many Horace, they just keep coming!"

Meanwhile, just below the library, Filch and Madam Pomfrey was blissfully unaware of the danger in which the other pair faced. They had stumbled into a circular room made completely of white marble. Rubies lined the bottom of the wall around the room while in the dead centre of the room was a silver statue portraying a large crusty mandrake. Around the room were 13 doors, each with a different horoscope sign, except the middle door, which was bare.

"Hey Poppy, what's the bet that something special's behind that middle door?"

"Highly likely, though I suggest we check the other doors too. You start on the left and I'll start on the right. If we don't find anything substantial, we'll meet in the middle." The pair nodded at each other and walked over to their first doors. Filch found a room of bottle rockets, a room which sprayed water on him as he entered, and a room which called him a whore; in the Aries, Libra and Scorpio rooms respectively. Whilst Pomfrey encountered a brick wall behind one door, a room growing a family of blast ended skrewts and a room which seemed to be some kind of shrine dedicated to the late Quirinus Quirrel; in the Sagittarius, Gemini and Cancer rooms. Not surprisingly, the nurse and caretaker found nothing of real significance in the first twelve rooms and met right at the middle door.

"Ready Argus?"

"Ready."

Filch reached over to the doorknob (which itself was covered in gemstones) and turned it, opening the door. As the nervous duo peered into the room, two sharp vines grabbed their legs and pulled them into the room. They had found themselves in a room filled to the brim with devil's snare. They screamed and struggled as the plant began strangling them both.

"Lu—lumos solem!" Pomfrey croaked, producing a bright light at the devil's snare. The part of the plant wrapped around her disbanded and she was free. "Lumos Sol—" She attempted to say so she could free Filch though a rogue vine snatched her wand off her and she was defenceless. "Don't worry, I'll get help!" Looking overly exasperated, Madam Pomfrey sprinted out the devil's snare room, out of the marble room and into the hallway. Screaming and shouting, she attracted the attention of Professors Flitwick and Trelawney, who were nearby.

"What is it my darling?" Responded an alarmed Trelawney, her beads trailing behind her as she ran.

"It's Argus; we ran into some devil's snare, I need a wand!" Flitwick grabbed his wand stuffed in his pocket and tossed it to Madam Pomfrey. The nurse turned around back into the room while Trelawney and Flitwick chased after her. When they reached him though, they found his lifeless body, pale and cold with the devil's snare retreated back in its pot. "It's too late..."

Flitwick made a tiny gasp. "Why on earth was there devil's snare in there anyway?"

"Well Filius, I believe it was a trap... I believe someone is still trying to kill us!

Back upstairs, Slughorn and Burbage had been fighting valiantly to hold off the dementors. Still outnumbered, the dementors just seemed to come back over and over again. Slughorn was profusely sweating as he attempted to hold off the dementors while Burbage was in the corner of the library, breathing heavily with her wand out protecting herself. Just as one of the most ghastly dementors had reached Burbage to give her the 'kiss', a silvery tabby cat and mandrake darted towards it and kept it at bay. Mcgonagall and Sprout had arrived on the scene to give the failing pair a hand. With the four of them together, they were strong enough to keep the dementors away as they found the exit. Piling out of the doorway, the group stumbled out into the hallway, slamming the door behind them.

"Quick! Let's find the others!"

The huddled foursome walked quickly and worriedly through the hallway heading for the stairs. With Mcgonagall in front, she led Burbage, Slughorn and Sprout up the rear through the maze of a house. Turning the corner Mcgonagall heard a scream from her behind. Turning around she saw a terrified Slughorn and Burbage staring into a hole in the floor in which Sprout had fallen. The trapdoor opened so quickly that you could still hear Professor Sprout's blood-curdling screams as she plummeted to a place unknown. Strangely; the group heard no sound of a body hitting the ground below... what was this place?


	3. Scream Queens

"POMONA!" Horace screamed, looking like he was on the verge of tears.

The small group of professors huddled around where the hole once lay, shouting for the lost herbology professor. They tried a variety of spells and charms to open the trapdoor but nothing helped, it didn't even look like anything was there. It was just the dusty burgundy carpet; smooth and flawless. They soon gave up, and Mcgonagall had to pull the other two professors from the ground.

"How could we have lost someone else?" Charity asked. "We just escaped from those wicked dementors, I thought we were safe!"

Slughorn buried his face in his hands and took a heavy breath. "I—I could have saved her, I was right in front of her!"

"We're going to die here aren't we Minerva?"

"Don't be foolish Charity, that is simply redic—" Mcgonagall paused once she looked over to Charity. The muggle studies professor was resting on the wall, her head down, tears streaming down her face. Her once perfect makeup was now running down her small face. "Dear, it's going to be okay. We'll protect you."

"_You'll _protect me?" Charity questioned by to Mcgonagall. "How can I count on any of you protecting me? For all I know, one of you could be the killer!"

"Merlin's beard Charity, how could you—"

"I don't want to hear it; this is all just too much!" Charity collapsed on the ground and wiped her tears away. "I just want to get out of here!"

Slughorn and Mcgonagall looked at each other and then back down to Charity. They stepped over to her and knelt down beside her.

"Dear, we're scared too but we want you to know that _we won't hurt you._ Isn't that right Horace?" Mcgonagall looked over to Slughorn hopefully.

"Right." He replied sincerely and went into hug Charity whilst Mcgonagall joined in.

The three lay there huddled together as the candles began going out, plunging the hallway into utter darkness.

Professors Flitwick and Trelawney and Madam Pomfrey had also been plunged into darkness whilst they tried to navigate throughout the house. As they stepped carefully through the halls of the manor, the ceiling seemed to be getting smaller and smaller, soon forcing the group to crawl on their hands and knees (except for Flitwick of course).

"Has anyone else noticed something odd about this place?" Sqeaked a curious Professor Flitwick.

"Don't worry, Filius, it's not just you, right Sybill?"

"MY SENSES!" Trelawney bellowed, as Pomfrey and Flitwick watched on in confusion. "My senses have found something of great importance. The moons align just west of this location. Follow my aura..." As Trelawney's voice trailed off, she began slinking on the floor in a western direction. Flitwick and Pomfrey had no choice but to follow her so they tailed her all the way to the mystery location. After several minutes of continuous crawling, the ceiling became noticeably higher again and they found themselves in a small musty room. The area had a strange sickly glow to it and the wallpaper was peeling and desolate. In the centre of the room was a little bronze table, topped with a shiny crystal ball, totally unaffected from the dust.

"Seems a bit like Sybill's classroom if you ask me... "Whispered Flitwick to Pomfrey, who had actually never seen Professor Trelawney's classroom. Though it was true, the room looked like a room belonging in Professor Trelawney's home, filled with the strange smell of candles, bundles of cushions and curtains hanging from the ceiling. The only light in the room was from the moonlight shining through the seemingly cracked window. This light was enough however for the group to see, even without their wands.

"My divine spirit has brought me to this sacred place! Let us sit and gaze, let's see the future of our lives!" Professor Trelawney floated over to the table and sat at one of the three brown chairs, which gave off a sickly smell of death.

"Normally Sybill I would not be inclined to this nonsense... though saying how we may all die tonight it shouldn't hurt." Madam Pomfrey creeped over to one of the chairs quietly and nervously took a seat. Inclined to join in, Flitwick waddled over to the empty chair and hoisted himself up so he was looking over the table.

"Now my dearies, let us all hold our friend's hands whilst I chant to forbidden words of my ancestors..."

"Forbidden words, I really don't—"

"Clama ad spiritus adsit auxilium, sit corpus habes, ostende te future! Tollam quippe vos!" Professor Trelawney screamed at the top of her lungs, frightening Madam Pomfrey and Professor Flitwick. The pair tried letting go of Professor Trelawney's hands though they were stuck, there was no use. The entire trio began sweating profusely as Trelawney began to gasp for breath. Her eyes rolled back into her head and her entire body began erratically shaking. Pomfrey and Flitwick struggled out of her grip as she began screaming. This time though, her voice sounded little like Professor Trelawney. It was a strange mix between the divination professor and some sort of mad monk, her voice echoing and howling.

"MACTA!" The voice bellowed, almost throwing Flitwick and Pomfrey off their chairs. "MACTA!" Trelawney let go of her fellow workmates and sprang up from her chair. "CRCUIO!" The possessed Trelawney screamed, pointing her wand at Flitwick.

The tiny Professor was thrown off his chair and winced in pain on the cold floor. "Expelliarmus!" Madam Pomfrey called, shooting her wand at Trelawney. Dropping her wand, 'Trelawney' screamed in anger and threw her hands in the air. At that presise moment, all the furniture, all the cushions, everything in the room starting floating in the air whilst the wind let out a deafening howl. Sensing imminent danger, Madam Pomfrey picked up Flitwick from the floor and the pair escaped the room.

As Trelawney glided over towards the duo, she held her wand out and let out a devilish laugh. Without having time to discuss, Flitwick was forced to turn left and Pomfrey ran right as they tried to escape the woman's clutches.

In the midst of Trelawney's outburst, Professors Mcgonagall, Slughorn and Burbage weren't having too much luck either. Spirits low, the group slowly crept through the manor, just hoping not to run into anything else very dangerous. Returning to the lower floor, they found no sign of the others and found themselves in the Conservatory, where Filch and Pomfrey were meant to be checking out. Luckily for them, they did not encounter Filch or the devil's snare and instead found a large dome conservatory with a variety of (seemingly) non-dangerous plants.

"Lumos." Whispered Professor Slughorn, holding out his wand. As the light shone upon the garden, gnomes could be seen running back into the bushes and pixes flying back into their trees. "This seems like a good place to explore, don't you agree?"

"I'm not quite sure Horace, what if these plants are dangerous?"

"Nonsense Charity, I even think I hear something in that shed over there." Slughorn was pointing to a crooked steel shed in the north of the garden. Weeds surrounded the base of the shed and the door was rusted and peeling. "Merlin's beard, maybe it's the house elf! We haven't seen her in awhile..."

"Horace, there is no way you're getting me in there. I have had just about enough of—"

"Settle down Charity, Minerva and I can check it out ourselves!" Slughorn nodded at Mcgonagall and she nodded back. They walked over to the shed and pulled open the door, it was surprisingly stable for a rusted door. Stepping inside they noticed a couple of brooms, pots, earmuffs and some butterbeer bottles, yet no Winky. As they prepared to depart the shed, the door shut on them, just nipping Slughorn's foot.

He tried opening the door though it wouldn't budge, just like every other door in the house. "Alohomora!" He shouted, poking the door with his wand... it did nothing.

"Let _me _do it Horace... we all know potions is your forte." She pulled out her wand and tapped the door. "Alohomora!" Of course, nothing happened. "Okay, next plan. On the count of three Horace, we slam the door open with our persons. 3...2...1...GO!" And even with Slughorn's morbidly obese stomach, it did nothing, though it did give the pair some nice bruises.

"Minerva, is it just me or... are finding breathing _difficult_?" Slughorn took one big breath, wheezing and coughing.

"Now that you mention it..." Mcgonagall also struggled with a breath and panic overcame her. "There's no air in here Horace..." The both tried every spell and charm they could think of to get out, or at lead survive a little longer. The obviously idea of calling out for Charity was only thought of after these attempts. "CHARITY!" Mcgonagall screamed, out of breath once she finished.

Racing across from the other side of the garden, Charity knocked on the door of the shed. "What is it, are you okay?"

"Just open the door!"

Charity too tried opening the door though it still did not open. "It's stuck! I think it needs a key..."

"Try looking around the garden!" Called out Slughorn, who was now collapsed on the floor of the shed.

"Under pots..." Suggested Mcgonagall, who was holding herself up with two brooms.

"Or under plants..." Tried Slughorn, struggling for breath.

Taking Slughorn's last words to account, Charity raced over to a nearby garden bed to start pulling out plants and looking in the soil. Just like she did so with the books, she pulled out one plant after another, in quick succession. Bad idea. As she struggled with one particular plant, she yanked it out of the dirt to find that it wasn't a harmless vegetable... it was a mandrake. The fatal screech of the creature echoed in the dome, the glass almost breaking from the sound. Charity's blood curdled, her hairs stood up and her heart... stopped.

Inside the airtight shed, the pair could hear the feint yet distinguishable sound of the mandrake. Reaching up for the earmuffs, Mcgonagall pulled a box of them from a shelf and Mcgonagall and the box tumbled to the ground. Taking one for herself, she passed one over to Slughorn and they both put them on. It hardly mattered though; they were close to dying anyway. Both of them now lay motionless on the ground of the shed, breath short, oxygen limited.

The clock is ticking...


	4. A Surprise Return

As Charity's lifeless body lay beside the shrieking mandrake, Professors Mcgonagall and Slughorn were still trapped inside the shed without any oxygen. Collapsed on the dirty floor among the bugs and spiders, Mcgonagall turned her head up so she was facing the other Professor. With Slughorn's out of shape physique and chronic asthma, he had already fallen unconscious, dying would be imminent. Mcgonagall tried her best to keep on breathing but her efforts were futile; each breath she took, the smallest amount of oxygen attempted to fill her lungs. The fact that she was now unable to breath made her panic and sweat. She wanted to move her arms but her body wouldn't let her; she was too weak. As she lay her head down and closed her eyes, the distant sound of the mandrake faded away as she simply gave up...

BANG!

The shed door slammed open and air gushed into the room. Mcgonagall gasped for breath and regained her body movement as she sat up. Looking up to the doorway she saw Madam Pomfrey, earmuffs on and holding a screaming mandrake in her left hand. Mcgonagall smiled at Madam Pomfrey and silently thanked her. Then, a thought; Mcgonagall looked over to Slughorn and her smile disappeared. He was still sprawled out on the floor unconscious, was it too late? Pulling herself over to the pale potions master, she gave him a good shake and even slapped him a few times. Madam Pomfrey stood there shocked, too worried to even help. Mcgonagall resorted to giving him mouth to mouth resuscitation and after a few very short breaths she sat back up. For a few moments nothing happened, but then he began to stir. His eyes opened and he took in one huge breath as he shot up from the floor.

"Oh, er... hello, yes! Madam... Minerva... how—how are we?" The delirious Slughorn hoisted himself up and dawdled out the shed. "AIR!" He screamed at a hiding garden gnome. "AIR!"

"He'll be fine..." Minerva whispered to Madam Pomfrey as she got up and walked out the shed.

"I guess I should re-pot this mandrake then..." Madam Pomfrey sighed, totally forgetting about the wrinkly creature squirming in her hand. Squeezing into the shed, she reached for one of the ceramic pots and walked back outside. Filling it with dirt, she buried the mandrake and put the pot aside. "There, that should do it!"

"Where's Charity?" Asked an apprehensive Mcgonagall. "Is she—"

"It's too late Minerva; there was nothing I could do..." Madam Pomfrey led Mcgonagall over to where the mandrake was once buried. Beside the hole of dirt lay the lifeless muggle studies Professor. Her complexion was pale; her eyes wide open and her face looked terrified. "She didn't stand a chance."

"I think we're all going to be a lot more careful for now on." Started Mcgonagall. "Not that we weren't being careful before. First Snape, now Charity, we don't stand a chance!" Mcgonagall gasped, putting her hands to her face. "Filius, Argus, Sybill! Where are they? Are they alright?" Mcgonagall looked over to Slughorn, who was just about back to normal. "Oh don't give me that look Horace! I care just as much about Sybill as I do with Filius and Argus... anyway, what happened?"

"Well, once we split up Argus and I headed to this side of the manor. We bypassed the greenhouse and kept walking. We found ourselves in this big room with all these doors, hoping to find something. We tried the middle door; we found a whole room of devil's snare! It pulled us both in and began to strangle us both. I managed to free myself but it stole my wand and..." Mcgonagall gasped at the realization of this conclusion. "Filius and Sybill heard our screams and came running but it was too late. We wanted to find the rest of you so we were going to head upstairs but then Sybill led us to this séance room of some sort. She got us all into this ritual and something happened, she just lost it! It was like she was possessed, she even attacked Filius, so we ran. Unfortunately, we managed to run in different directions and we got split up."

"That sounds absolutely horrible Poppy! We lost Pomona..."

"No! What happened?"

"We're not exactly sure; she just kind of... disappeared. We haven't heard from her since." Mcgonagall shook her head, trying to take in all this information. "Well I don't think splitting up was the best option. I think we just need to find Filius and make a plan together!"

Flitwick luckily was still safe as he continued to run from the deranged Trelawney. The pressure of getting captured and the constant running however tired him out and he became thirsty and weak. Deciding that he couldn't keep running, he thought that he needed somewhere to hide. Of course, nowhere in this house was really safe, most of the rooms he encountered gave him nothing but bad luck. He soon found himself back at the front door of the house where the guests first came to this 'party', totally unaware that the night would be plagued with death and tragedy.

"Ah, back to the beginning I see!" Cheeped Professor Flitwick. "And this is the room where Severus tragically—"Flitwick paused. He crept over the blood stained rug which housed Snape's body and knelt down beside it. "Where the devil has it gone?" It was true, Snape's body had disappeared, only his dried up blood remained. "Yet _another _mystery to this house. Well I can't stay here!" Flitwick said to himself. "Trelawney could come by at any moment. I just need a place to hide out... ahh! Perfect!" Flitwick strided over to a cellar door he saw on the ground and hoisted it open. "Here we go then!" Jumping inside, Flitwick closed the door behind him and took out his wand. "Lumos!" Flitwick then began the long journey down the spiral stairs into the cellar. They seemed to go on forever, though maybe it was only because of Flitwick's small stature. 2 minutes passed, 5 minutes passed, 10 minutes, 15 minutes and then finally...THUMP! Flitwick's foot had found the bottom. 'I wonder how far underground this is', Flitwick thought to himself.

"This seems like a good place to—AH!" Flitwick squealed and jumped in the air at the sight of what stood before him. 10 feet tall towering above Flitwick was one of the frumpiest, ugliest and fuming giants the tiny professor had ever seen. "Oh—why hello Mr Giant! I seemed to have stumbled upon your humble abode and if you don't mind, I'll just be leaving!" Flitwick turned around and ran to the stairs. The giant didn't seem to like this though and it swang it's large wooden club in Flitwick's direction, barely missing the man. "Oh, I see then... stupefy!" The spell hit the giant right in the chest, yet seemed to have to effect. "Petrificus Totalas!" Once again, the spell hit the giant with no effect. What Flitwick didn't know was that the giant wasn't actually a giant. It was a boggart. Though it took Flitwick quite awhile to figure it out. "Please Giant, leave me now! You don't understand, _you _are my biggest fear. I must tell you that—"Flitwick's eyebrows rose and smiled. "Biggest fear... riddikulus!" Flitwick shot the spell at the giant right in the eye and this time, it immediately had an effect. The giant began rapidly shrinking, it dropped its club and its ugliness melted away. Within moments, it was nothing but a little defenceless mouse. "HAHA! Now that's funny! I'm the tall one now. So long gi—I mean, boggart!" Just as Flitwick was about to depart the cellar to return upstairs, he spotted something behind where the 'giant' once stood.

"Is that..." Flitwick ran over to what he thought he saw, or rather, who he saw.

He had found yet another body.

Professor Mcgonagall, Professor Slughorn and Madam Pomfrey tried to keep sprits high as they made their way through the almost deserted home. They were nearly at the dining room where they were to wait for Flitwick; they just had to make it through the kitchen.

"What a beautiful kitchen!" Remarked Professor Slughorn, the others didn't seem too pleased. "Just trying to stay positive... look they have a pizza oven!"

The ladies sighed and they continued through the surprisingly clean kitchen.

Just as Mcgongall turned the corner past the pantry, a spoon flew through the air and hit her on the head. "What the devil was that? Did you throw that Horace?"

"Of course not Minerva I—OW!" Another spoon whacked Slughorn in the ear. "That's it, whoever—" Slughorn turned around to the source of the attack and standing, or rather, floating in front of him was Professor Trelawney, still apparently possessed.

"Sybill!" Mcgonagall screamed. "What are you doing?"

"MACTA! MACTA!" She raised her arms in the air and knives flew out of all the drawers. Flying her arms forward, the knives flew towards the group of three.

"Protego maxima!" Shouted Horace. "Stupefy!"

It missed.

"Quomodo audes!" It bellowed, cracking all the glass in the room. The possessed Trelawney then proceeded to speed over to the trio at an alarming rate. The trio jumped out the way in the nick of time and the witch screamed in anger. "NULLUM! NULLUM!" Ropes sprang from a spare cupboard and starting contorting around Trelawney. Then, with a simple gesture of the hands, they flew towards Slughorn and Mcgonagall and tied them up. The pair had no way of moving as they hobbled on the ground. "MUSCAE!" Trelawney called out, causing the pair to rise in the air and levitate. "OFFOCO!" The ropes around the pair tightened and once again they were out of breath, choking for air.

Madam Pomfrey screamed in terror. "Not again you monster! Not _my _friends, not again!" The haunted Trelawney had totally underestimated Pomfrey and believed tying her up would not be necessary. "I may not be a fantastic dueller but when my friends are in trouble... STUPEFY! STUPEFY! STUPEFY!" Three stunning spells shot out the nurse's wand and each one hit Trelawney directly in the chest. On impact, Trelawney fell from the air onto the ground and the ropes were untied and disappeared. Trelawney now looked like she was having a seizure again, her mouth was wide open. A feint outline of a spirit retracted from the divination professor and rose from her body. Giving a final devilish laugh, it flew away through the ceiling.

"Sybill!" Madam Pomfrey called, running over to her body. "Are you okay?"

"Okay... OKAY?" Trelawney screeched. "Of course I'm okay! I was taken over by a spirit of the beyond, my ancestor chose me as his host, I FEEL SO ALIVE!"

"She'll be fine..." Mcgonagall explained. "Let's keep going we're nearly there..." Madam Pomfrey helped Trelawney up and the four of them continued to the door of the dining room. As they entered the dining room they got quite a shock; there stood Flitwick with someone else...

"Guess who I found!"


	5. Dinner is Served

The room fell silent as the group saw who stood beside Professor Flitwick behind the dining room table. Slughorn stepped forward and blinked a few times then a large grin fell over his face.

"Merlin's beard Pomona!" Slughorn cheered as he ran over to hug her. "We—we thought we had lost you!"

"Well dear, I thought I had lost you too..." The group walked towards Professor Sprout and began listening intently on what she had to say. "Well Minerva, Horace and Charity would know that—Minerva, where has Charity gotten too."

"I'm sorry Pomona, we lost her, bless her soul..."

"Oh—oh right of course..." Continued a noticeably flustered Professor Sprout. "Well, you two would remember when I fell down that hole. It was simply dreadful, the floor just disappeared beneath my feet, my stomach began to curl and the next thing I know that I was falling! The moment felt noticeably longer than it really was though I was eventually caught by someone... a death eater."

Madam Pomfrey gasped at the thought of death eaters lurking in the manor. "Death eaters Pomona? Are you quite sure?"

"Yes, I was shocked at first too... poppycock, I thought to myself. Why in the world would a death eater be lurking in an abandoned mansion? Though it would explain these odd occurrences we've been facing. It stunned me, and I fell unconscious..."

"And then..." Professor Flitwick squeaked, hoisting himself on top of the table. "I managed to wake her up! What Pomona saw down there was not a death eater, it was a mere boggart! I battled a giant, not a death eater..."

"A death eater is my biggest fear; their masks haunt me every night..." Pomona's words faded away and Mcgonagall spoke up.

"Well I'm glad everyone has reached the same destination, we're all together, safe!"

"Do we want to stay together though Minerva?" Madam Pomfrey asked, gauging a negative response from Mcgonagall. "I would much rather prefer to stick with those I trust, not someone I don't know well..." Madam Pomfrey looked over to Professor Trelawney.

She gasped. "My dear, the stars have not yet acquainted our souls because your spirit chose not too! I am always open for discussion of the mind but you have not once approached me on the subject!"

"Why, 'my dear', would I approach the likes of you, my parents always taught me not to associate myself with those of your class..."

"How dare you! For generations my ancestors have mastered the great art of divination and have aligned their lifestyles to follow that art, we consider it an ancient and noble subject! Why you would not be interested in divination is beyond me..."

"This foolish behaviour you show demonstrates to me that you're wild and untrustworthy, which is exactly why I would not want to stay with you... you could be the killer!"

"Enough!" Mcgonagall screeched. "If we are to stick together, we need to remain on good terms with each other, fighting is not doing anyone any good. You're both acting like a bunch of baby puffskeins! Now if you don't mind, I believe a meal is in order..."

"A meal Minerva?" Asked a puzzled Professor Slughorn. "How are we to manage a meal, there's no party!"

"Open your eyes Horace, look right in front of you!" Mcgonagall replied, gesturing to the dining room table.

Sure enough, on the long carved table which lay before them were five large silver platters. The middle platter was the largest of them all and had hot steam pouring out from under it. The table had ten chairs, one for each of the guests, and each guest's plate had a labelled tag with their name on it.

"What is that peculiar smell?" Asked Professor Flitwick as he took a big whiff of the steam.

"It seems to be coming from the platter Filius, shall we take a look?"

"I do not see why not Madam!" Flitwick, who was still standing on the table, walked over to the silver platter. With both hands on the handle, he pulled upwards revealing the source of the smell.

The entire room gasped as they saw what was under the platter. Professor Mcgonagall screamed in horror, Professor Sprout ran to the corner of the room and began sobbing uncontrollably, Professor Trelawney looked up to the sky and began praying, Madam Pomfrey stood there blank faced and shocked, Professor Slughorn shut his eyes trying to forget what he saw, and Professor Flitwick almost fell off the table at this gruesome sight. There lay the charred remains of what was thought to be Winky the house elf. Her body had almost been entirely burnt off, apart from the obvious parts of her head which remained. The elf's eyes were melted away and her ears had completely disappeared.

"This—this is awful..." Croaked Professor Mcgonagall.

"She looks so small..." Professor Flitwick squeaked.

"_Who _would do such a thing?" Madam Pomfrey stated, sending a subtle look to Professor Slughorn.

Though he actually saw the look she gave him and his temper rose. "Poppy, you wouldn't dare excuse me of such a monstrosity, would you?" His eyes look like they were about to burst, he was clearly offended by these accusations.

"But Horace, Poppy didn't accuse you of—"

"Oh I could see it in her eyes, she looked directly at me!"

"Horace, this isn't like you?" Mcgonagall said, her face fearful and concerned. "I believe the stress is getting to—"

"No Minerva, I am in no state to hear it! Sybill, let's go outside, I'll give you a potion for your head..." Slughorn, clearly wanting to cool down, led Professor Trelawney outside to administer her with her potion. The rest of the group took seats around the table as Professor Mcgonagall covered the platter back up.

"I am truly sorry Poppy, Horace was utterly out of line!"

"It's okay Minerva; I think this manor is changing all of our mindsets..."

"I'm just shocked that one of us would do commit these unlawful acts..." Flitwick announced to the rest of the group. "I do believe that this may be our last night together... this is a horrible place to squander the New Year."

"Well if there is any chance that we make it out here alive, we will have to find the killer..."

"That's right Poppy, that's not going to be easy though. Unless any of you want to hand yourself in to save us the trouble?" Asked a hopeful Mcgonagall, as she looked around the room. No one came forward so Mcgonagall continued to speak. "Well we might as well discuss this now we're all here together."

"We're not _all _together Minerva." Reminded Flitwick. "Sybill and Horace are still outside..."

"That's right, Filius, let us bring them back in." Suggested Madam Pomfrey. "Excuse me Horace, Sybill; would you be able to join us in the dining room again." Called out Madam Pomfrey.

The pair returned from the adjacent room, looking nervous and confused. Professor Trelawney took a seat on her chair and Slughorn stood right behind his chair.

"What?" Slughorn asked nervously.

"We need to discuss these murders Horace..." Replied Madam Pomfrey. "Sybill; you seem to be able to tell the future, are you able to tell us who the killer is?" Pomfrey asked, raising her eyebrows.

Professor Trelawney began to sweat, looking around at Slughorn, wondering if the potion had taken effect yet. "Well—er, the moons do not tell of the near future only the distant..." Trelawney stumbled on her words, obviously under pressure. "Only the distant future, the stars cannot help with your question I am sorry..."

"Once again Sybill," Professor Mcgonagall announced. "Your powers have failed to impress anyone..." Slughorn seemed frustrated.

"Relieved are we Slughorn, that no one would figure out that _you _are the killer!" Said Madam Pomfrey.

"Dear, you seem to be accusing others an awful lot, what if you are the _real _killer." Professor Trelawney inquired.

"I must admit Horace; you haven't shown _too _much emotion throughout these occurrences..."

"I am not known to be an emotional soul Minerva..." Slughorn replied. "I am not sure why you accuse me of these crimes!" An angry Slughorn pulled out his chair and straightened his coat; he then fell onto the chair with a sigh. As his large buttocks hit the chair, a painting of an elderly woman hanging on the opposite wall moved to the side, revealing a gaping hole in the wall. Suddenly, without anytime to get out the way, a red arrow shot out the hole at Slughorn, darting into his heart.

Slughorn reacted with a gasp as his chest shot forward, he was dead within seconds.


	6. Reaching Boiling Point

As the single red arrow shot from the wall into Professor Slughorn's heart, several blood vessels burst on impact. Explosions of bright red blood poured out of the wounds and out onto the dining room table, as well as on several of the guests. Professor Mcgonagall, who was seated right next to Slughorn when he was shot, received the full impact of the soaring red substance. Her entire body had at least one drop on every part of her, from her long brown coat, to her new leather shoes. Her opal necklace in which she had been wearing was barely visible as most of the blood hit her neck and torso. The fact that one of her dearest companion's blood has sprayed all over her in mark of his death gave Professor Mcgonagall a reason to completely lose it. Breathing very quickly as she attempted to wipe it off, Professor Sprout rapidly bounced over to the transfiguration Professor and wrapped her own coat around her as she attempted to comfort her.

"There, there, darling; we shall just go clean you up and it will be fine..."

"No, Pomona!" Mcgongall panted as her once tight hair bun, collapsed with pressure. "It will not be fine; we have just lost another one of our dear friends. Frankly, I have just about enough of this nonsense! I swear I will figure out this mystery, catch the person who has committed these wicked deeds!"

The rest of the group looked on in horror, this was the maddest they had ever seen her. Even madder than the time a Slytherin boy put puking pastilles in her tea. The aging Professor's face was a deep shade of red and her eyes look bloodshot and tired. Her now messy hair fell over her face and her robes look grubby and untidy.

Taking a few much needed deep breaths, Mcgonagall spoke up once more. "I am sorry for what I said... I am truly sorry for all this; the stress I believe is getting to me. I think you are quite right Pomona; a hot shower may be all I need to calm down a bit. The bathroom is just upstairs on the left, care to escort me Pomona?"

"No!" Filius shouted, a lot louder than he had ever squeaked before.

"No, Filius? We won't get lost, it is quite alright." McGonagall replied back, slightly disgruntled.

"I thought you had spoken of staying together for now on, if we make the decision to split up again, you may be in danger." Mcgonagall's frown disappeared; Flitwick was only looking out for her. "I do not want any more deaths in this house..."

"Thankyou Filius for your concern but we shall be alright. Let us go clean this mess up Pomona." Mcgonagall gave a small smile to Filius and departed the room. Luckily, the bathroom wasn't too far away, it would be very hard to get lost. The pair exited the dining room and back into the entrance hall with the large stairs. After slowly making their way up the staircase, the bathroom was only two doors down in the hallway.

"Minerva, if you don't mind, I would like to keep you company in there... don't worry..." Sprout reacted, sensing Mcgonagall's discomfort. "I will not look; I simply want you to be safe in there.

"Very well..." Mcgonagall replied, sensing she had little choice.

The pair entered the bathroom and shut the door behind them, locking it for extra security. As Sprout stood facing the small window in the corner, Mcgonagall undressed and proceeded to enter the shower. Fiddling with the shower knobs, she had found the perfect temperature for her needs; it certainly did make her feel a lot more relaxed.

Picking up a lone sponge, she began scrubbing as much blood off as possible and began a conversation with Professor Sprout. "I truly am sorry for my minor outburst Pomona; this house does strange things with your mind..."

"I know what you mean Minerva, I keep thinking I'm hearing screaming; obviously I didn't want to tell anyone, they would think I'm mad!"

"Do not fear Pomona, I've been hearing things all night." Mcgonagall paused in her tracks. "You know Pomona, I really do trust you."

"As I with you Minerva, you are about the only one I can trust now... and Filius of course!"

"Yes...Filius." Mcgonagall sighed, as she attempted to scrub a blood stain from her neck. "I am not sure even about Filius anymore, tonight we've seemed strangely distant."

"Minerva, you cannot actually believe Filius is the one behind this can you?" Pomona turned around to Mcgonagall, shocked at her accusation. Of course, she could hardly see Mcgonagall, just a feint out line. The heat from the shower had filled the entire bathroom with hot steam; it was almost like a sauna in there.

"I really have no idea, though I do not wish to stay to find out. We trust each other 100%, is that right Pomona?" Asked Mcgonagall, turning the shower knobs to cool it down a touch.

"That's right Minerva, but what are we to do?"

"There must be a way out, I say we try to escape, leave the others, and then alert the Ministry of Magic."

Professor Sprout seemed hesitant on this plan. "You must not be serious Minerva?"

Professor Mcgonagall turned around in the shower so she was facing Professor Sprout. "Pomona, does this face look serious?"

The herbology Professor turned around to face Professor Mcgonagall. "I am really not sure Minerva; there is a large amount of steam in the way. Would you mind using colder water?"

"I've turned it down twice already Pomona, though it doesn't seem to be working." Professor Mcgonagall wiped the glass on the shower wall so that the other Professor could see her slightly more clearly. "Now that you mention it Pomona, it is starting to burn up in here..." Mcgonagall tried once more to turn the hot down a bit, it had no effect. "Still no use... I think I am nearly finished anyway." Professor Mcgonagall tried to ignore the heat and finish the shower but it was beginning to get a bit much for her. A lot of the liquid streaming down her body was not from the shower but from sweat. She began getting very red again, just as before, and tried to take in some breaths of fresh air. "I think that is enough now Pomona, have a towel ready please." Both hands on the pair of silver knobs, Professor Mcgonagall turned both of them in the direction of the off position. She turned them... and turned them... and kept turning them. The shower failed to turn off, it just got hotter. The heat began to be unbearable, Mcgonagall had quite enough. "Okay, I am just going to come out now Pomona." Panted a very flushed Mcgonagall.

"Is everything alright Minerva?" Asked Professor Sprout, preparing a towel for her friend.

"Yes, yes, I am coming out now." Mcgonagall called out to Sprout, wanting to escape the colossal heat of the shower water. She pushed on the shower door, hoping to feel the cold air from outside, though the door seemed to be stuck. She pushed another time, as hard as she could... the door didn't budge. "Excuse me Pomona; the door is a bit rusty I believe, would you be able to hoist it open?"

"Oh, righto Minerva!" With a towel in one hand, Professor Sprout pulled on the door as hard as she could though it didn't work.

"You might want to hurry up Pomona; it's getting a bit toasty in here." Called out Mcgonagall, bearing the soaring temperature of the water.

"Minerva, it seems to be stuck, would you be able to turn the water off?"

"I HAVE TRIED POMONA! There is no use; it just makes the water hotter. Use your wand if you can't open it!"

Professor Sprout patted down her robes in search of her wand as Mcgonagall tried to endure the constant pain.

"I—I don't have it on me Minerva, it has seemed to have disappeared!"

"Then _break _the glass Pomona! THIS IS URGENT!" Mcgonagall tried once more to turn off the tap but was burned in the process! She screeched piercingly, startling Professor Sprout and causing her to drop the towel.

"Well—well okay, there isn't really much to..." Professor Sprout spied a steel soap dispenser beside the sink and snatched in up.

BANG!

She crashed the dispenser right onto the shower and it wobbled slightly.

BANG!

She tried again, the steam obscuring her vision and causing her to miss.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

She attempted three times in succession yet the glass remained steady.

Professor Mcgonagall let out a blood-curdling scream, the water temperature had become too much for her, it began scolding her skin. He own blood began to boil and her skin began peeling. Her whole body was a deep shade of red and blisters began popping all over her skin. "OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD POMONA... _HELP ME_!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Professor Sprout cried, continuing to bang the shower with her instrument. "HELP!" She cried into the hallway. "PLEASE HELP!" She looked out into the hallway and down the stairs, there was no one running up to assist her. She was all alone and tried calling back to Professor Mcgonagall "Okay Minerva, it's going to be—"

"POMONA!" Professor Mcgonagall screeched again and Professor Sprout sprinted back into the bathroom. The steam had poured out into the hall so Mcgonagall was a lot more visible through the mist now, though it wasn't exactly a sight Professor Sprout wanted to see. Her skin had almost entirely peeled off; her body was now a shade of fiery red and her flesh was melting down her legs giving the room the smell of burning corpses. "DON'T LEAVE ME!" She wailed once more. Her hair had fallen flat over the parts of her face still recognisably intact, and strands began falling out into the puddle below. Some of her bones were even exposed as the immense heat overtook her body. "SAVE ME... PLEASE!" She continued to scream, even though she looked like she should be dead. Falling to the shower floor, she let out a final howl before the burning water consumed her, the pain Professor Mcgonagall felt was one of the most unbearable and excruciating things imaginable.

The steam was also of a very high temperature, Professor Sprout choking on it as she ran back out into the hall. Tears streamed down her face as she stumbled over to the stairs, calling out for the others. The candles blew out once more and darkness buried the manor. She could still hear the shower running, along with the echoes of Mcgonagall's screaming in her head. Looking over the railing, she spotted a small blue light down below. It was Flitwick holding out his wand, he seemed to be arguing with someone down below.

"It was my choice!" Professor Flitwick angrily screeched. "I was finished!"

Professor Sprout heard the mumbling of a woman's voice further away, though couldn't make out who it was and what they were saying.

"Well it's too late now, the event has passed!" Flitwick shouted back the mystery person.

After some more incomprehensible mumbling, Professor Flitwick seemed madder than ever.

"You cannot offer me anything; I was given something greater than you could ever give me!"

The mystery person seemed angrier too, Flitwick had just about reached his boiling point.

"NO!" He echoed throughout the manor.

In an instant, bright flash of green blinded Professor Sprout as she heard a body fall to the ground.


	7. Murders Explained

**Just a note- this ending is pretty much an explanation between the final two characters on who the murderer is and how everything happened. **

**Hopefully it doesn't bore you too much.**

**Sorry.**

As Professor Sprout regained her sight, she peered over the balcony, searching for the body. There, after being flown across the room, was the tiny figure of Professor Flitwick. Sprout tried to hide her shock as she began to make her way over to stairs.

"Wait." She thought to herself, taking two steps backwards.

Flitwick had just been murdered; she couldn't just run down to see him. All night, Professor Sprout hoped that it was just the house playing tricks on them; that one of the guests wasn't the murderer. Though her worst fears were realised, something she secretly knew to be true was confirmed. As she crept back up to the railing looking over the entrance hall, she spotted the woman arguing with Flitwick approach him. She knelt down to check that he was dead and then proceeded to take out her wand. With a flick of her wrist, the candles were lit once more and the murderer was revealed, there standing before Professor Flitwick was none other than Madam Pomfrey.

"No... it can't be." Professor Sprout whispered to herself. Why would the harmless school matron, Madam Pomfrey, kill all of her colleagues? The sound of another person reached Professor Sprout's ear, and she proceeded to hide behind a stone pillar. The figure of Professor Trelawney appeared from the other room; Professor Sprout considered calling out to warn her, though she remained silent. Professor Trelawney spied Flitwick's body with Pomfrey and walked over to them, seemingly undeterred that Flitwick was dead.

Professor Trelawney's eyes widened and she leaned in to Madam Pomfrey... they kissed.

Professor Sprout almost fell over with shock. "WHAT!"

"What?" Asked Trelawney in curiosity, reacting to Sprout's shouting.

"I didn't say anything love." Replied Madam Pomfrey. "You must be hearing things..."

That was a close one; Professor Sprout practically glued her hands to her face to avoid another outburst.

"I can't do this... it's just too bizarre." Announced Madam Pomfrey. "When am I going to see the _real _you again?"

"Any second now Poppy..."

Sprout had no clue what these words meant, though soon enough things began making sense... kind of.

Professor Trelawney looked like she was about to vomit, clutching her stomach as she moved away from Madam Pomfrey. Her entire body began moving around, a wave of skin rippling through her torso. She began getting fatter, her hair disappeared to almost nothing and her womanly features disappeared without a trace. Before long, Professor Trelawney had fully transformed into an entirely different person.

"Merlin's beard!" Professor Slughorn exclaimed, looking over his old body. "That was a nightmare, that woman had such long hair, it's uncontrollable! Now did you get my little present?" Slughorn asked, holding out both his hands to Madam Pomfrey.

"Of course Horace, here it is!" Madam Pomfrey reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. Opening it up, she revealed a collection of crystallized pineapple along with a red ribbon draping the sweets.

"Ah, my favourite! I see no harm on trying just a single piece..." Slughorn licked his lips and drew his hand forward into the box. Picking up the largest piece (which was in reality, two pieces stuck together), he picked it up and popped it into his mouth. "That takes me back..." Slughorn ate with his mouth open, so you could see the chewy pineapple piece in his mouth getting devoured by his teeth. Although there was still a piece stuck in his teeth, he had finished the treat and sighed in enjoyment.

He collapsed on the ground.

The obese man began shaking uncontrollably and his mouth began to froth up. Madam Pomfrey merely watched in excitement as the potions master was dying in front of her. The shaking and frothing soon stopped and he just lay there, motionless and slightly purple. Professor Sprout had enough, she couldn't let Madam Pomfrey continue to kill—it was only her left anyway.

"Poppy!" Pomona screamed as she bumbled down the stairs. "It was you!"

Madam Pomfrey turned around to face Sprout; she had almost forgotten there was somebody left in the house. "No Pomona you don't understand..."

"I don't understand? I just witnessed you killing both Filius and Horace! Care to explain that?"

"Yes." Madam Pomfrey sighed. "I will explain. Let me take you back to the beginning..."

"Well Pomona, since the beginning of this school year, Horace and I had been seeing each other. It was love at first sight, I know, it sounds rather cliché, but it was true! As we grew closer to one another, I soon found out Horace wasn't the man I thought he was. He had all of these plans for crime and murder, hurting people that we knew..." Madam Pomfrey paused as she wiped away tear. "I said I did not want to be involved with him anymore but he could not take no for an answer! He put me under the Imperius curse; I was thoroughly under the man's control. He decided that a fake party would be the perfect place to take out those in his way, so he found this manor, his deceased uncle's home, and set it up with traps and cursed all exits out of the home."

"Why did Horace want to kill _anyone_ though? That's simply..."

"Unforgiveable? I know. He mainly killed them for money or power, I'll explain in a moment. Once all the guests had arrived, he simply needed to kill the guests off one by one and he'd be finished with it. If you recall, Horace was the first one to suggest that we explore the house looking for the host..."

"Of course! Then all he would need to do is isolate each guest one at a time."

"That was his reasoning! Severus was the easiest to kill; Horace knew he would go exploring by himself so he followed him. Whilst his back was turned, Horace cast Sectumsempra on Snape and he bled to death."

Sprout nodded along, still fearing for her life, it was actually beginning to make sense. "So why kill Severus? We could agree that he wasn't a nice person, though that's no reason for murder is it?"

"Like I said, Horace simply wanted money. He was short of currency at the time and needed a better paying job; so if Severus was dead, he would inherit the Head of House job. After we discovered the body and found Winky, Horace once again suggested that we split up. Of course Filius organized the pairings but we could work from that either way. Slughorn had told me I was always the one who would kill Filch so now was the perfect time for me to do it. Of course Horace caught on when we were paired together and told me what I needed to do. Whilst Flitwick was off exploring one of the rooms filled with bottle rockets, I took the devil's snare pot hidden in one of my rooms and placed it within the middle door. Once we were inside and captured, I was of course able to escape with my wand. I let the plant take mine and since Filch was a squib, he had no chance."

Professor Sprout's eyebrows raised and she edged closer to Madam Pomfrey. "So you were still under Horace's control at this point Poppy?"

"Of course Pomona, you must believe me!"

"Very well... continue with your story." Replied Sprout, unconvinced of the story.

"Thankyou. Now Horace had little reason to kill Filch but the thing is that Filch and I share a salary. He told me by killing Filch, I would receive more money..."

"So you did want to kill him!"

"Pomona, please. I was still under the Imperius curse; this was merely an incentive Horace offered me before he put me under. Horace must have had a reason though; he would not want to reward me for not obeying him." Madam Pomfrey took a deep breath in and tried to remember what happened next. "So that brings us to poor Charity, frankly, Horace was exhausted from her constant whining so decided she must be killed. Originally, Horace planned for Minerva to be killed by the mandrake but Charity became a bit much..."

"Didn't Horace almost die in that shed? He was deprived of oxygen for a quite a while."

"I must admit, I cut it fine on that one. Horace had told me to let them out once I heard the sound of a mandrake scream. I would have come earlier but Sybill was possessed by that spirit... now _that_ was not part of the plan!"

"Okay, things are beginning to make vaguely more sense. Why though, did you kill the innocent house elf?"

Madam Pomfrey sighed and wiped away yet another tear. "Winky was never actually meant to die. After finding her in the Hogwarts Kitchens, Horace became Winky's new master. Winky was meant to help out with the night though she was very reluctant. When we split up, Horace did actually want to find Winky, but not to kill her. You see, Horace had poisoned the butterbeer glazed quail we were to eat for dinner, in hopes for some easy kills. While Winky was hiding from the guests, we believe she stumbled upon it, ate it all up and then had a nap inside the platter before she slowly died. Being the alcoholic that she was, she couldn't resist even a glaze of butterbeer, though that would become her final drink."

"That makes little sense Poppy, then why was she burnt?"

"I had some trouble with that one too Pomona, but Horace filled me in. What happened was that the platter was magically timed to float into the oven at a certain point to be cooked. At that point in time, the platter along with Winky's corpse was taken to the oven and slowly roasted. At yet another point of time, it floated from the oven to the dining room table to be served. That answers the story of Winky now I suppose you're wondering about Slughorn's death, or rather, Sybill's."

Professor Sprout nodded without saying a word and ushered Madam Pomfrey to continue. "Well then, Horace had sensed there was some suspicion towards him involving the murders so he thought of a plan to combat these ideas. When he took Sybill outside for her potion, it wasn't a cure for her head, it was actually polyjuice potion. Whilst she drank her potion, Horace ripped some hairs out from her and made a potion of his own. They were to swap identities just so she could be killed. They had just finished switching clothes when we called them back into the room. Horace had told her that he would kill her if she didn't act like him. So of course, being the scaredy cat she is, acted like him and sat in his chair. BANG! That's when she got shot, though it looked like it was Horace."

"Okay then..." Professor Sprout continued, not even slightly surprised at the whole polyjuice potion incident. "What about Minerva and Filius? Both of them died right in front of my eyes!"

"That's when Horace had to do a little bit of improvising! The rest of the guests should have been finished off with the poisoned dinner but since that didn't work out, we needed something else. While you accompanied Minerva off to the bathroom to wash up, Horace snuck up behind you and into the room right next to the bathroom. This is where all the pipes and levers were and that is when he cursed the pipes to the shower so that the water would get progressively hotter. Of course just like every other door in the house, the shower door can't open."

Sprout gave a small nod but then her face turned to anger. "I am sorry Poppy but I cannot believe you didn't kill Filius willingly, you were fighting... about something."

"We were fighting about Slughorn. Flitwick was supposed to be in on the plan too, Horace offered him a lot, though he refused. He still wanted Flitwick back, so Horace tried to get me to convince him to join him, if not, I was to kill him. He wanted all of the other Heads of Houses dead anyway..."

"So he _was _going to kill me too?"

"Yes. He thought that if all of the other well trusted Heads of Houses were out of the way, he would be next in line for Headmaster. There's a lot of money in that!" Madam Pomfrey threw the pineapple to the ground. "Though once I had murdered poor Filius, I managed to break free of the curse. I poisoned the pineapple and then gave it to him like he asked, I couldn't let him win."

Professor Sprout had taken in a lot of information; she was still deciding if Madam Pomfrey was telling the truth about Slughorn.

BANG!

Fireworks could be heard overhead, it was the New Year now, what a lousy way to spend the night.

"Well if that's all well and good, explain some other things for me! Horace and Charity were attacked by dementors, he could have died there too!"

"That's where he was hoping to lose Charity, the dementors never came close to him, he was always powerful enough to repel them if they got too close. Unfortunately you and Minerva found them and Charity managed to escape their kiss."

"Then how do you explain the disappearance of Severus' body?" Demanded an increasingly trusting Professor Sprout.

"That's easy. Horace was worried that the other guests might figure out the spell he used on him; few people know the spell you see. Although it was Snape's own spell, Slughorn was aware of the spell after he found Snape's potions book hidden in a cupboard in the staff lounge. He was worried people like Mcgonagall and Flitwick might have seen it so he didn't want to leave Snape's body out for inspection. So, when I was escaping Sybill, I had enough time to hide the body elsewhere."

"I don't trust you Poppy!" Professor Sprout screamed as she stole Professor Flitwick's wand. "I have a feeling I will need to kill you before you kill me!"

Madam Pomfrey raised Slughorn's stolen wand."But Pomona, I need—"

"BOMBARDA!" Professor Sprout shouted, directing her wand at the large ornate chandelier hanging above them. As Sprout took a few steps back, the chandelier broke off its rope, crushing Madam Pomfrey.

Although Professor Sprout's actions seemed brave, they were not justified. Madam Pomfrey, sadly, was telling the truth; Professor Horace Slughorn was the mastermind killer behind everything. She had been under the Imperius Curse and she was controlled to commit her own murders. By the time Professor Sprout had fully taken in the information and thought about it a few times, she increasingly started to believe Madam Pomfrey's words.

"What have I done..." Whispered Professor Sprout to herself. "WHAT HAVE I DONE?" All throughout the night, Professor Sprout was plagued with death and suffering. She watched as many of her friends died and almost died a few times herself. She was trapped in this mysterious house with no idea on how to get out and had just about given up on trying. With that in mind, no one was surprised when Professor Sprout put Flitwick's wand to her head and said. "Avada Kedavra."

And then there were none.


End file.
